above her head, looked at her own reflection,
and smiled.

She was glad she was so lovely--for Ronnie's sake.

Ronnie's love to-night was very wonderful.

She moved towards the door, but paused in passing, to look into the
smouldering embers of the fire.

At that moment the clocks struck midnight. She heard the Westminster
chimes, up on the landing.

It was Christmas Day.

"Unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given," murmured Helen. "Oh,
holy Christ of Christmas, may the new life to come be very perfect for
my Ronnie, my baby, and me."

* * * * *

"Helen!" came Ronnie's eager happy voice, shouting over the stairs. "I
say, _Helen_! Where are you?"

"Coming, darling!" she called, passing out of the studio, and moving
swiftly down the corridor.

Ronnie, on the landing, was leaning over the banisters, an expression
of comic dismay on his face.

"Oh, I say!" he whispered. "I've done it now! I believe I've woke the
baby!"

Helen, mounting the stairs, paused to look up at him, love and laughter
in her eyes.

"Undoubtedly you have, you naughty boy! No shouting allowed here now,
after dark. But what do you think I was doing? Why, I was in the studio,
putting to bed the Infant of Prague."

THE END.

_Almost One Million Copies of Mrs. Barclay's Popular Novels Printed_.

* * * * *

By Florence L. Barclay

The Rosary

==Cr. 8vo. $1.35 net. ($1.5O by mail.) Holiday Edition, with
Illustrations in Color by Blendon Campbell. $2.50 net. By mail, $2.75.==

"An ideal love story--one that justifies the publishing business,
refreshes the heart of the reviewer, strengthens faith in the outcome of
the great experiment of putting humanity on earth. _The Rosary_ is a
rare book, a source of genuine delight."--_Syracuse Post-Standard._

The Mistress of Shenstone

==Cr. 8vo. $1.35 net. ($1.50 by mail.) Holiday Edition, with 8
Illustrations in Color by F.H. Townsend. $2.50 net. By mail, $2.75==

"A worthy successor to _The Rosary_."--_Phila. Press_.

The Following of the Star

==With Frontispiece by F.H. Townsend. Cr. 8vo. $1.35 net. ($1.50 by
mail.) Holiday Edition, with 8 Illustrations in Color by F.H. Townsend,
$2.50 net. By mail $2.75==

"A master work."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean_.

Through the Postern Gate

==(Under the Mulberry Tree)==

A Romance in Seven Days

==With 9 Illustrations in Color by F.H.